You Keep Running In and Out of My Life
by Heroicagal
Summary: Jessica Smith: the Girl Who Runs. She hops throughout time and space meeting the Doctors of Old and New, not sure as to how she's gotten into a parallel universe or why. She isn't sure how she of all people got the privilege and responsibility of helping to ground the Doctor. What she does know is that she had better continue to run. Her life and possibly the Doctor's depend on it
1. In Which The Running Begins

I am nothing special. I am not a movie star, or a superhero, or a pop singer. I am plain old Jessica Smith, the girl whose name even is one of the most common in the world. But somehow, in some way, I came to be one of the closest friends of the Doctor. I know his past, I know his future, and I know how much hurt he is going to face. I know everything. And when you travel with the Doctor this kind of knowledge destroys you. If you love someone you would do anything to stop them from hurting. Not _that_ kind of love either! Not for the Doctor. That comes later and with someone totally different. He's like my big brother and I've been there since the beginning for that Mad Man in his wonderful Blue Box traveling the universe. I didn't mean to end up as a Clara repeat, or even as a Companion (technically I don't know if I can even be considered a Companion, what with the way I pop in and out). Peri says it's destiny, Jamie says it's a lucky thing, Donna says it's just plain nutter. I don't know how to take it, but this is my lot in life and this is who I am now. I always bounce in and out of the Doctor's life in a moment's notice, sometimes being there for hours, days, weeks, never lucky enough for it to be years. It all depends on how long the Vortex thinks I should be there. I think the TARDIS may be in on it too, but the Old Girl is a bit tight lipped about that sort of thing.

As River says, you never know how long you get to run with the Doctor. It always feels like it's forever but it cannot always last. My story may be a bit more jumbled than even her own (imagine that!) but I know she is right. I can't run forever and I feel as though that this wild, amazing run is nearly over. Maybe that's what's urging me to record my incredible journey now. I don't know. But what I do know is that as much as the Doctor likes to call me The Girl Who Runs my time is running short and soon, very soon, he'll need somebody else to look after him.

...But let's not get too cryptic about what the Oods say. You must be confused as to how somebody as simple as me got to be so involved with the Doctor. You want to know why and how I know his future, what I mean when I say I look after him. Well hold on for a crazy ride, it makes about as much sense as anything else in these universes do.

When I say universes, I mean the plural. I come from a parallel universe like the one Rose is in except the Doctor doesn't exist there. He is the star of a TV show and I was just a fan who luckily (Mickey would have said it was the opposite) got to see the real thing. The Doctor says the reason I bounce all around the universe is because as I passed into his the Vortex noticed something not organic to it. Like an alien infection I am driven out by the equivalent of white blood cells within the Vortex after I am detected and sent around the universe as the Vortex tries to right itself and bring me home. The reason I appeared to the Doctor is because I break the Laws of Time and so does he. We are both walking paradoxes, drawn together in a seemingly endless waltz, tango, salsa, and shimmy that ends with a dip and a headache. It started out so long ago…

* * *

I was at home watching the "Sound of the Drums" with my shirt on for the past 50th Anniversary with all the Doctors on it and a blue sweat shirt on. I had my pin clasped on that was the seal of Gallifrey. I had got it as a Christmas present and I didn't even know how much grief and joy it would bring in combination. I also had on my homemade TARDIS key and a purple watch and a gold ring on my ring finger, an old family heir loom. That was all I had when I came here and I don't have much else but this electronic diary and a Bible the Doctor procure for me (let me tell you, as you travel throughout time Biblical History takes on a whole new meaning!).

I had gotten up to get some popcorn even though this episode turned my stomach. I was starving. After munching happily on the buttery kernels I turned and dropped the bag. In front of me in my kitchen tiles was a crack in the floor. And there was a golden tendril snaking it's way towards me. I tried to run but it ensnared my foot and dragged me down. Screaming at the empty house was the last thing I remembered before I was pulled completely through and into the start of this crazy tale.

* * *

I awoke with my head throbbing and a sore back. Looking up I glanced around at my surroundings, trying to orient myself. All I could see was that I was in a city and in a rather empty corner of it; except, of course for a trio and one young man bobbing to his music. I could see the woman of the trio was clearly upset with and yelling into a phone.

"Let them go Saxon, do you hear me?! Let them go!" The beautiful dark skinned woman yelled with agony into her phone. My jaw dropped and I stared from my shirt to the man in front of me in the suit and converse, his long coat adorning him. The man next to him was in a WWII jacket and had black hair and handsome features. My brain was not computing. It made no sense for this to be real. But then I remembered the agony of the burning gold light and I remembered that this episode had already been filmed. If that was all as real as I remembered then I must be…

"I'm here." The man who could only be the Doctor said softly as the man who could only be Jack comforted Martha.

"Master." The Doctor says the name simply in reply to what I know is the Master saying his name on the other end of the phone.

"You chose it. Psychiatrist's field day." He says in reply to the Master saying how much he enjoyed hearing his name said by the Doctor. I noticed his eyes flit around nervously and he looks at me without really seeing me.

"So… Prime Minister." The Doctor continues and states as both fact and a question. The Master quips a response.

"Who are those creatures? 'Cause there's no such thing as the Toclafane. It's just a made-up name like the Bogeyman." He says. I cautiously make my way towards the store window that houses the TVs near where Martha and Jack are standing. I ignore them and pretend to be interested as to what was on the screens instead of what they were doing or what the Master was saying.

"Gone. – It burnt." The Doctor says and I wince, self-consciously tracing the design on my broach.

"Dead. And the Daleks. More or less. What happened to you? – I know. – I was the only one who could end it. And I tried, I did, I tried everything." He says full of regret. I want to comfort him but that doesn't seem like the best idea right now.

"Stop it! – I've been alone ever since. But not anymore. Don't you see, all we've got is each other? – You could stop this right now, we could leave this planet. We can fight across the constellations if that's what you want. But not on Earth. – Why do you say that? – I could help you. Please let me help." I heard the pleading in his tone and know that it will do no good. The Master will not be swayed. Wait a second- this had to be a dream. There is no such thing as the Master, the Doctor, none of this was real!

The boy across the street tapped a 4 beat rhythm and bobbed in time to it.

"What have you done?" The man who I couldn't reconcile with reality asked. "Tell me how you've done this. What are those creatures?" Suddenly the Doctor's eyes got very wide and he turned and looked straight at me. Jack and Martha noticed the change in his demeanor and looked and me too, their eyes landing on my shirt. Unsure of whether I would be dealing with the Oncoming Storm or not, I turned to flee but Captain Jack grabbed onto my wrist and held me firmly in place.

"Hang on a second sweetheart. " He told me. "Where's the fire?" I started to struggle terrified as the Doctor got closer.

"She has nothing to do with this Master and I am telling you now, Jessica LeAnn Smith is under my protection as are the Jones family and Captain Jack Harkness." He looked at me and gave me a soft smile and Jack let go of my wrist, getting confirmation from the Doctor that I was alright from his demeanor. He knows my name. How does he know my name?!

"Now stop stalling and talk to me- Stop it." The Doctor looked at the televisions through the glass and there on it was his picture along with one of Martha and a rather unflattering one of Jack. What scared me the most was a fourth one that appeared. It was of a woman who looked just like me, but at least a few years my senior and with much longer hair twisted into an elegant bun and a quite interesting dress on.

"What?!" I screech, my voice coming out high pitched. The Doctor winces. He looks up and our eyes follow to a security camera.

"He can see us!" The Doctor says and takes out the camera with his sonic. It works. It actually works.

"What do we do now?" Martha asks as she looks at the smoking equipment.

"We run." The Doctor says and grabs my hand. We take off down the street with Martha and Jack in step behind us and my mind running a million times faster than my feet. This cannot be real… I look and once more see the pictures on the screen and feel the solid pounding of my feet and the warm hand of the running Doctor. This _can't not_ be real.

**A/N: Alright guys, I know that this has been done before, the whole hopping through the Doctor's time stream but I wanted to take a crack at it! This will include no OC romance with the Doctor (his Companions are a different story…) and a character that meets the Doctor at many times throughout his time stream. My goal is to have at least one encounter in every regeneration. Let's see where this takes us… Thanks for reading and see you hopefully soon. -Heroicagal**


	2. The Drums Drive Me Mad

Running with the Doctor was not something I ever had even considered remotely possible. Yet here I was, running for my life and from the Master of all people. The thing that scared me most about all this? That woman in the picture, was she possibly me? Was I going to be stuck here forever? I had no idea, but I supposed that now was not the right time to be contemplating these things. I had to focus on the matters at hand. First of all, staying alive should be a top priority. Right now I was as much of a target as the Doctor, Jack, and Martha. But why was I a target? How did the Master know me? More importantly how did the_ Doctor_ know me? Eventually we came to a stop at a warehouse. Nobody was home. Cliché but it worked. We stopped and panted, me staring in wide-eyed shock at the three of them.

"Sorry about this Jessica. Of all the times to pop up, eh? You really can't seem to stay out of trouble." He grinned wanly at me in a sort of dark humor at our current situation.

"Pop up?" I asked.

"Hold on, this is Jessica? She's much younger than she used to be." Jack interjected.

"Why does she have you on her shirt?" Martha asked looking down at my shirt. I blushed.

"Oh she's got all of me on there." The Doctor said upon closer inspection. His eyes flit to my broach. "And the Seal of Rassilon it looks like. May I see?" He asked, indicating my pin. I took it off and handed it to him and he inspected it.

"Much less damaged than it usually is, not as many scratches on it as I'm used to seeing. These are early days for you, aren't they?" He asked, handing me my unclasped broach.

"_Early_ days?! You mean there are_** later**_ days?!" I questioned, my breathing starting to pick up. I looked around at the trio and shook my head. "I want to wake up now." I say, my voice cracking. Martha cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

"I want to wake up now!" I yelled and clenched the hand clasping my pin into a fist in my agitation. I yelped at the pain as it pricked me on my palm. Opening my hand I saw it was bleeding. My face turned a deathly pale. I hadn't woken up and the three of them were now eying me in concern.

"You haven't met me yet, have you Jessica?" The Doctor asked softly, his eyes looking me up and down. I shook my head and chuckled mirthlessly.

"But obviously you know me. Tell me, Doctor, am I insane? Have I lost it? How can you be real?!" I asked, my voice rising at the end of that statement. He looked at me with a small amount of hurt in his eyes.

"Jessica Leann Smith: the Girl Who Runs. I am sorry, so _so_ sorry that we had to meet like this." He gently took my hand and wiped the blood off of it. "Let's do this the proper way. 'Hello, I'm the Doctor'". He said and smiled another smile, this one warm and comforting. I looked at his extended hand and slowly took it.  
"Hello Doctor. I'm Jessica Smith." I said slowly, my mind starting to accept the reality of the situation. He gave me a small pat on the shoulder.

"I know."

After taking a few minutes to calm down I explained what had happened to me to the Doctor as Martha and Jack listened in.

"So you know what's going to happen? How this is going to end?" Martha asked, hope radiating in her tone. Before I could answer the Doctor stopped her.

"Even if she does, she can't tell us."

"What? Why?!" Martha demanded, fury starting to seep into her eyes.

"It could create a massive paradox and destroy all of time and space. We don't know if this is a fixed point in the Doctor's life or not and if it is, we can't do anything to change it without risking the collapse of all reality." Jack said with a slight sigh. Martha frowned in frustration. I winced as I remembered what had happened with Rose during "Father's Day".

"Anyway, might I say it is great to be ahead of you for once in knowing what's going on?" The Doctor said with a small teasing glint in his eyes. I smiled back at him albeit with less giddiness.

"This has happened before then? Me showing up out of the blue?" Martha was about to respond when the Doctor stopped her by holding up a hand.

"Can't say, even if the answer seems obvious. The Laws of Time forbid me from telling you anything about your own future." I gave a small growl of frustration, now understanding Martha's irritation.

"Jack already said that I looked younger than last time so I'm guessing that the answer is a yes." There was no response from anyone, the silence confirming my thoughts.

"I'm starving. I'm going to go see if I can get some food now that it's dark out." Martha said after a moment of palpable silence.

"I'll go with you." I offered, wanting the chance to clear my head. Martha shook her head.

"I think traveling in a group will draw too much attention, besides, you and the Doctor have a lot to catch up on." Martha left before I could even protest that we couldn't catch up on anything, we were both stuck in a silence demanded by the Laws of Time. The Doctor seemed to share my thoughts as he went back to fiddling with the vortex manipulator of Jack's and the computer completely ignoring my pleading glance. I slumped in defeat to the ground and stared blankly ahead. _It could be worse_, I rationalized. _I could've dropped in on the Master_. I shivered at the thought.

"So, have you met _me_ yet?" Jack asked, trying to take me away from my dark musings. I grinned warily and shook my head.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said and I laughed as he was able to turn something as innocuous as his name into a flirt.

"Jack, stop it." The Doctor warned, looking up from his work.

"I'm just saying hello!" Jack responded back with his usual annoyance. I laughed.

"I'm Jessica Smith. As flattering as the flirting is, I think I may be a bit young for you at this point in my timeline." I responded back much to Jack's chagrin and the Doctor's amusement.

"Don't take it personally Jack; she's got a thing for Scots." He teased and went back to his fiddling. My cheeks burned red as Jack queried with his eyebrows raised.

"It's nothing." I turned away his inquisition and went back to the Doctor. "Thanks for that, by the way." I said annoyed. He just smirked, a knowing grin on his face.

There was the sound of heels as Martha came back carrying an assortment of food with her. My stomach growled at the sight, having not eaten since popcorn. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at me and I blushed even more.

"How was it?" Jack asked, wondering about how much attention we would draw in this part of town.

"I don't think anyone saw me." Martha answered.

"Anything new?" She asked as she gave Jack some chips. He munched gratefully on them.

"Met Jessica for the first time officially for her and the Doctor was able to this to tune into government wavelengths. We can monitor what Saxon is doing from now on. "He said, tapping the vortex manipulator.

"Yeah, I meant about my family." Martha snappishly responded, turning to the Doctor and me and delivering some chips to us as well.

"Still says the Jones family taken in for questioning." The Doctor reported as I took a bite of the greasy golden goodness. They were doing wonders for my nerves. "Tell you what, though, no mention of Leo." He said with a slight smile, hoping to cheer his companion up.

Martha returned his smile. "Not as daft as he looks." She paused and realized how ridiculous this all was. "I'm talking about my brother, on the run, how did this happen?" She asked more of herself than of anyone else.

"I am completely with you on that sentiment." I said flatly. She gave me a small glance before looking to Jack and the Doctor.

"Nice chips." Jack commented, trying to turn the conversation from our wonderings at the insanity that was now our lives. He was right of course. They were really very tasty…

"Actually, not that bad." The Doctor said as he chewed a few thoughtfully. I nodded in agreement.

"Pretty good." I said. The lull in the conversation lasted only a few more seconds as Jack gained the courage to ask what was on both his and Martha's minds.

"So, Doctor, who is he?" he asked, "How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?" I snorted at that, remembering the things I'd seen about the High Council. They all seemed to be psychopathic. The Doctor gave me a warning look as he seemed to have read my mind. I folded my arms and gave him a challenging glare, daring him to deny it after all hid fellow Time Lords had put him through, not to mention the fact that the Time Lords had bred Rassilon and Omega, both insane but brilliant and ruthless.

"And what is he to you?" Martha wanted to know, "Like a colleague, or…" An old school buddy. They both went together to the academy just like with the Rani. I tried hard not to laugh as I remembered the Master with his cliché beard of evilness. While this was no laughing matter, it helped me to calm a bit more to make light of the situation and the 70's Master, while brilliantly acted and still as evil and ruthless, somehow had a slight campiness to him that allowed the audience to be able to enjoy his character without cringing at his insanity as they do with this new Master.

"A friend at first." The Doctor said a bit sadly. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He gave me a quick nod of thanks to my concern but his eyes also brushed it off. I dropped my hand and fiddled with the Seal of Rassilon pinned to my shirt.

"I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something." Martha joked. The Doctor and Jack gave her a bewildered look and this time I laughed heartily.

"You've been watching too much TV." The Doctor said and Jack nodded his agreement. Martha just grinned sheepishly and Jack moved things along.

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect." Jack said with a frown and perplexed look in his eyes.

"Well, perfect to look at, maybe." The Doctor said, "And it was, it was beautiful." He paused to lean back in the chair he was sitting in, reminiscing. "They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the continent of the Wild Endeavour, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. The oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere. Only to watch." I frowned. _So much for that policy, _I thought, remembering the Second Doctor's term of servitude to the Celestial Intervention Agency and the Third Doctor's exile on Earth only ended when he had done enough of their bidding. They still interrupted his life afterwards, the Fourth Doctor being told that he could only enjoy the freedom they would so graciously grant him if he continued to allow them to, from time to time, snatch him out of his time stream to do their dirty work. It made me angry and the Doctor took note of the anger in my eyes. I looked at him and he nodded to me letting me know silently that he knew what I was thinking and that it was alright. He was fine.

"Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy." The Doctor went on, "And some say that's where it all began. When he was a child. That's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the Untempered Schism, it's a gap in the fabric of reality through which can be seen the whole of the Vortex. You stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of time and space. Just a child. Some would be inspired. Some would run away. And some would go mad." He shook himself slightly back to reality. "I don't know." I looked down. I did, it was the vortex that did this to him.

"What about you?" Martha wondered. I knew this one.

"Oh, the ones that ran away." The Doctor said without a trace of guilt or hesitation. I smiled.

"He's been running ever since." I said. The Doctor noticed my wistful smile and draped his arm around my shoulder, drawing me close.

"Never had the time to stop. So much to see and an awful lot of running to do." He said as he jostled me playfully and I hummed the song from Chameleon Circuit. Martha and Jack gave me an odd look but I just shook my head.

"I know a song called that."

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"You didn't know? There's a whole band dedicated to you where I come from." The Doctor wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Seriously?" Martha asked a bit stunned.

There was a beep from Jack's vortex manipulator.

"Encrypted channel with files attached. Don't recognize it." He informed us.

"Patch it through to the laptop." The Doctor instructed.

"Uh, since we're telling stories," Jack said with a clear nervous tone, "There's something I haven't told you." Jack plugged in the vortex manipulator and held his breath as the Torchwood logo lit up on the screen. We both cringed at the glare the Doctor gave him.

"You work for Torchwood?" He asked and then he turned to me. "You knew about this." He didn't even ask it as a question. It was a statement.

"Hey, I just got here, the Master is out to kill me, and oh yeah, I'll probably never be able to get home again! Sorry I didn't have it first thing on my mind to report to you what the good guys were doing as though it were an issue!" He frowned but turned to Jack who started to give a defense.

"Doctor, I swear to you, it's different, it's change." Jack said, "There's only half a dozen of us now." Yup, and a pretty great half a dozen.

"Everything Torchwood did and you're part of it?" The Doctor demanded an explanation.

"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf." Jack reported "I rebuilt it, I changed it, and when I did that, I did it for you. In your honor."

The Doctor didn't look convinced but the video came up anyhow.

"_If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means if you're watching this, then I'm…" _The woman paused, unable to fathom this idea. "_Anyway, the Saxon files are attached, but take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started, when Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network."_

The screen showed a series of images, the earth surrounded by satellites in orbit around it.

"What's the Archangel Network?" The Doctor asked.

"I've got Archangel," Martha said retrieving her phone, "Everyone's got it." I pulled out my own phone from my pocket and was relieved to see my phone wasn't on the network.

"It's a mobile phone network." Jack continued, "Because look, it's gone worldwide. They've got 15 satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."

Eyes widening in realization the Doctor scanned Martha's phone with his screwdriver.

"It's in the phones! Oh, I said he was a hypnotist. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on." He hit the phone against the table and it suddenly put forth the four beat rhythms, "There it is! That four beat rhythm. It's everywhere. Ticking away in the subconscious."

"What is it, mind control?" Martha questioned.

"The Master always was hypnotic." I said and shrugged. It was sorta like mind control in my own opinion…

"No, no, no, no. Subtler than that." The Doctor responded, "Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code, 'Vote Saxon. Believe in me.' Whispering to the world. Oh yes!" The Doctor figured it out. "That's how he hid himself from me! 'Cause I should've sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should've known way back, but the signal cancelled him out."

"Anyway you can stop it?" Jack wanted to no.

"Not from down here." The Doctor admitted, "But now we know how he's doing it."

"And we can fight back!" Martha realized.

"Oh, yes!"

The Doctor got down to business, stripping apart the laptop and Martha's phone. He held out his hand and each of his companions gave him their TARDIS keys. He looked expectantly at me.

"I don't have one." He looked to the homemade key around my neck. "Wait, this seriously works?" I asked. He nodded, pleased by my excitement. I quickly gave it to him. He got to work on each of our keys, including his own.

"Four TARDIS keys." The Doctor said, pushing them back towards us, "Four pieces of the TARDIS, all with low-level perception properties because the TARIDS is designed to blend in." he paused for a second, as Martha and Jack gave him a look while I knew what was going on and so I beckoned him to continue with a gesture, "Well sort of, but now, the Archangel Network's got a second low-level signal. Weld the key to the network and Jessica" he said as he took a step back, holding his key, "Look at me, you can see me, yes?" I nodded my affirmation.

"What about now?" The Doctor placed the key around his neck and I couldn't keep my focus on him. "No, I'm here, look at me." The Doctor tried to get my attention and it worked for a second but then my attention shifted elsewhere.

"It's like I know that you're there, but I don't want to know." I report for the benefit of Jack and Martha.

"And back again." The Doctor took off his key. "See? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible. Just unnoticed." He passed us back our keys and stopped. "Oh! I know what it's like! It's like… It's like when you fancy someone, and they don't even know you exist." Martha looked put out and the Doctor took off. Looking between Martha and the Doctor, I went to catch up with him after giving her an understanding look. I knew how she felt.

I caught up with the Doctor. "You do know that you are Mr. Thick sometimes right?" I asked, and he gave me a dumbfounded look.

"What?" But Martha and Jack had caught up. He took note of it and gave me a look that said this conversation wasn't over. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't run. Don't shout; just keep your voice down." The Doctor cautioned, "Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows."

"Like ghosts." Jack said.

"Yeah. That's what we are." The Doctor whispered, "Ghosts."

We put on the keys and headed out, nobody seeing us as we moved like specters.

We finally managed to get to the air base where the president of the US in this universe was meeting the Master. We stuck to the shadows and my heart leapt into overdrive as I noticed the Master sitting there. I stumbled quickly at his sight and the Doctor caught me, concern evident in his face. I gave him a shaky smile of reassurance and he helped set me right. As the president left in pulled the Jones family under arrest and Martha had a clear fury in her eyes. It made me doubt the Master's sanity even more that he even considered messing with her family.

"Hi, guys!" The Master crowed in the glee. Despite the handcuffs, both Mr. and Mrs. Jones struggled to get at Saxon, but were quickly stopped by the officers, "All will be revealed!"

Martha started to go for them.

"Don't move." The Doctor said.

"But—"

"Don't." He repeated, this time with more force. She listened to him with obvious regret in her eyes.

"I'm gonna kill him." She said as she watched her family being carted away. That was the effect he had on most people though.

"Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack offered. I shook my head.

"I'd do no good. He'd just regenerate. If we could find a way to stop both his hearts though…" The Doctor looked horrified at the pair of us. I shrugged slightly. I knew this was upsetting him but sometimes evil is evil. In this case I think we should take River's lead.

"Now that sounds like Torchwood." The Doctor remarked to Jack. "And you're infecting Jessica." He added.

Jack shrugged, "Still a good plan." He gestured towards me.

"He's a Time Lord. Which makes him my responsibility." He said to us, "I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him."

"Aircraft carrier _Valiant,_ that's a UNIT ship, at 58.2 North, 10.02 East." Jack said after messing with his vortex manipulator some more.

"How do we get on board?" Martha asked.

"Does that thing work as a teleport?" The Doctor queried of Jack.

"Since you revamped it, yeah." Jack reported as he pressed some more buttons, "Coordinates set."

The Doctor made sure that all four of us had our hands on the manipulator before he let it have a go and then we teleported. I went farther than the rest.

The next thing I knew I was in a room filled with people. My perception filter was still active so no one saw me.

"Jessica!" The Doctor whispered urgently as he saw me.

"Doctor what-" I felt as though my stomach had turned inside out. He led me to Martha and Jack.

"You just experienced your first temporal jump. I have a plan. Stay here."

"And I ask you now," President Winter's continued, "I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane." He spread out his arm as four Toclafane appeared to the world around him. One by one they came. The Doctor began to creep around the edge of the room, trying to get to the Master, "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President Elect of the United States of America, and Designated Representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to planet Earth and its associated moon."

"You're not the Master." A child-like male voice came from a Toclafane.

"We like the Mr. Master." A female said creepily.

"We don't like you." A third male retorted.

I wanted to do something, say something, but I knew this is what had to happen.

"I can be master, if you so wish." Winters said, "I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will."

"Man is stupid." Male One said.

"Master is our friend." Male Two continued.

"Where's my Master, pretty please?" The girl sphere asked.

"Oh, all right then. It's me!" the Master yelled happily, jumping up and out of his chair. "Ta-da!" He laughed, "Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect, people just get obsessed. Is it the smile, is it the aftershave, is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know! It's crazy!"

"Like he is." I grumbled. Jack shushed me.

"Saxon, what are you talking about?" President Winters asked, thoroughly annoyed.

The Master suddenly grew serious. "I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Starting with you." he turned around and ordered of the Toclafane, "Kill him." President Winters was annihilated. People screamed and panicked trying to leave the room. I felt bile rise in the back of my throat and had to swallow down the sick.

"Guards!" The Master called.

"Nobody move!" They shouted, training their weapons. "Nobody move!"

The Master ran to where he was in view of the cameras. "Now then!" he demanded attention, "Peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully." The Doctor lunged at him, seeing his chance. The spell of his perception filter was broken and on the orders of the Master he was halted by his guards.

"We meet at last, Doctor." The Master gave a Joker like grin, "Oh! I love saying that!"

"Stop this!" The Doctor yelled, "Stop it now!"

"As if a perception filter is gonna work on me." The Master leered at the Doctor and turned to look straight at us, our keys having been revealed as being utterly useless. "Oh look, it's the girlie, the Freak, and the Running Girl. Although I'm not sure which one's which." Jack had decided he had had enough of this madman. He took the Doctor's lead and bolted, only to be shot down by the Master with a small thin metal tube and a yellow beam that it emitted. And then he died again. Martha and I rushed to him to make sure he resuscitated. "Laser screwdriver. Who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again." He looked us over. "My my Jessica, you seem to have gained a few pounds but lost some years. Got any work done?" He winked at me, obviously relishing the fact that I had no idea how and when we had met and he could see my confusion.

"Master, just calm down." The Doctor tried, "Just look at what you're doing, just stop. If you could see yourself…"

The Master gave a melodramatic sigh before turning to address the camera once again." Do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute." He walked off and out of view and he turned to the guards, "Let him go." The guards released the Doctor and pushed him hard to the floor. I glared venom at the Master at the way his people were treating the Doctor and he just smiled at my feeble attempts at intimidation.

"It's that sound, that sound in your head." He said hurriedly went on, "What if I can help?"

"Oh! How to shut him up?" The Master said with a sarcastic musing, "I know! Memory lane!" He sat down right in front of the Doctor, "Professor Lazarus, remember him? And his genetic manipulation device?" Martha and the Doctor shot him a look of confusion. "What, did you think little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver…But, ooh, if only I had the Doctor's biological code. Oh! Wait a minute! I do!" the Master suddenly leaped up, running over to a shiny metal case, "I've got his hand!" he said opening the case to show us the jar with the Doctor's hand in it that Jack had called his 'Doctor Locator' ,"And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another hundred years?" And then the Master pointed his own screwdriver at the Doctor and began the horrible process of altering his genetic makeup. Images poured into my head as the Doctor screamed in pain; the time he was turned into an Androgum, the time he had been made Cyber Controller, the Ganger who had struggled through his regenerations into the eleventh. All were incredibly painful and all were so wrong to have forced upon you. I went forward to try to shield him but Jack grabbed my wrist. Jack also grabbed Martha and gave her his vortex manipulator.

"Teleport." He told her.

"I can't." She said stubbornly, eyeing the Doctor. "I can't just leave him."

"We can't stop him. Get Jessica and yourself out of here and away from this maniac. We can't let what Jessica knows fall into his hands. Get out." Jack said and I gave him a glare that said I knew exactly where I was going to go and it wouldn't be flying to the hills and abandoning the Doctor. We had only just met but the Doctor treated me kindly and from the look of things he was all I would have in the terms of people to rely upon in the foreseeable future. I couldn't just leave him here to suffer, even though I knew I was being irrational. I knew everything would be alright. But did I really? Time is relative. Things could turn out much differently here and with a paradox machine at his disposal the Master could really kill the Doctor without bringing total collapse of reality immediately.

The man pretending to be Saxon stopped finally and I rushed over from Jack to the Doctor, Martha following quickly behind. He was even older than his first self now, infinitely more feeble and sore. We managed to sit him up slightly together. "Doctor?" I asked softly. Martha went about checking his hearts beats.

"Ah, she's a would-be doctor." The Master said in regard to Martha's examination, "But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown them in, all the way from prison." The doors opened and the Jones family was forced in with guns buried into their necks. Martha tensed besides me, petrified in place at the sight. I couldn't even imagine how she was feeling; I had never had to see such a horrific sight with my own family.

"Mum." She breathed.

"I'm sorry." Mrs. Jones cried.

"The Toclafane." The Doctor demanded at the Master as he labored to breathe, "What are they?" The Master bent down towards the Doctor, gesturing at him that he couldn't hear, "Who are they?" The Doctor repeated.

"Doctor, if I told you the truth," he touched the Doctor's chest where his hearts were, "Your hearts would break." He gave me a grin.

"I suppose you having to see him like this has brought him halfway there already." I wanted to pounce at him but kept my cool.

"Is it time?" the female Toclafane queried.

"Is it ready?"

"Is the machine singing?"

The Master stood up and looked at his watch, "Two minutes past." He bounded up the steps, meeting up with his sadistic blonde wife and he turned to face the camera, "So, Earthlings! Basically, um… End of the world." He held up his own screwdriver into the air as he yelled triumphantly, "Here. Come. The drums!" A song started to blare in the background and the faux-Saxon grinned as the sky poured down millions of Toclafane.

"How many do you think there are?" The Master asked his blonde.

"I don't know." She responded.

"Six billion!" he answered as he switched the speaker to connect to the outside, "Down you go, kids!" he called to the Toclafane and they continued to rain down, "Shall we decimate them?" he asked of his wife, "That sounds good. Nice word, decimate. Remove one tenth of the population." He ordered the spheres.

The Doctor gave me a look and then started to whisper to Martha whose eyes widened. Pleas were pouring into the _Valiant _from the demolished planet below.

"_Valiant, this is Geneva! We're getting slaughtered down here!"_

"_Help us! Please, help us! They're everywhere!"_

"_This is London, Valiant! This is London calling, what do we do? They're killing us, the Toclafane are killing us!"_

Martha had tears streaming down her face and I tried to keep the voices from overwhelming me. She grabbed ahold of me and pointed to the manipulator and I nodded in understanding. We both gave the room one last look, her connecting with her family, me gazing broken heartedly at the elderly Doctor who gave me a look of determination and she activated the teleport sending her down to London and me somewhere far away across the cosmos to where the TARDIS was in route to a planet that entombed frozen and slumbering Cybermen.


	3. The Dawn of the Cyberday

Hurtling through not only the Vortex but through space itself was enough to upset anyone's stomach. I felt myself smacked and battered and a headache building but I knew, somehow I knew, I would land in one piece. Of course, randomly showing up in the TARDIS would be enough to spook anyone.

"It's the TARDIS, it's my home. Or at least it has been for a considerable number of years- Oh my giddy aunt!" I heard a kindly voice exclaim as I fell face first onto the floor of the TARDIS with a loud clanging noise as my body connected with the ground. This was accompanied by a shout of surprise and a girlish scream. I rubbed my head and looked up to see three people staring down at me, two in concern, and the other in complete astonishment.

"Doctor, what is this?!" I heard the girl exclaim. Victoria Waterfield was her name. She had a soft demeanor and wore a Victorian style dress.

"This is Jessica Smith Victoria. She stops in from time to time." The Doctor, the Second Doctor, reached down and helped me to my feet and so did his male companion.

"Ye werenae joking when ye said she would literally pop in next time we met." Jamie McCrimmon said as he helped to get me upright. "Are ye alright?" He asked. I blushed as he took in my odd clothing and rather messy hair.

"Er, yes." I said, sheepishly rubbing my arm and staring at the inner décor of the TARDIS.

"My word, you look affright." The Doctor commented as he saw the state of me. "Had trouble arriving did you?"

"You could say that. First time I've gone all the way from one century to another." I said. He nodded in understanding.

"Early days for you then, very early days judging by how young you look and how shocked you appear to be in my TARDIS. Have we met before?" He asked me.

"O' Course we have Doctor. Remember-"Jamie started. I shook my head to cut him off.

"Not in this regeneration no." Jamie stopped and looked at me confused.

"Ye mean this is the first time ye've met us?" He asks, almost sadly. I shrug my shoulders.

"Yes, sorry. The Doctor always likes to say time is relative and it appears in my case it likes to prove that point every time I meet the Doctor over again. This is only my second time meeting him." I explain.

"Would any of you please be so kind as to explain what's going on?" Victoria asked patiently.

"Er, well…"

"Jessica here, like the TARDIS, travels throughout time and space. She seems to be stuck on an infinite loop though of meeting me over and over again." The Doctor informed Victoria.

"What, the TARDIS travels throughout time and space? Don't be silly." She said disbelievingly while chuckling.

"Oh no no no no. Don't laugh." The Doctor lightly scolded. "It's true. You're father and Maxtable were working on the same problem but I have, uh, perfected a-a rather special model which enables me to travel through the universe of time." He explained.

"How can you? If what you say is true, you must be uh- well, how old?" Victoria inquired. I smiled, she didn't even know that he would live to be much older than the young man he was now. Ironic that this man who seemed like a kindly father, possibly even grandfather was really the Doctor in what could be equated to late teens to early twenties.

"Well if we count in Earth terms I suppose I must be about four hundred-" The Doctor grew softer as he calculated. "Yes I suppose I must be about four hundred and fifty years old." Victoria gave him a look of incredulity and Jamie looked at me just as shocked. I gave him a small smile to confirm his suspicions of what I already knew. He shook his head, amazed.

"Yes, well, quite." The Doctor said in response to their reactions. "Now, I think Victoria might find that dress a little impractical if she is going to join us in our adventures. Jamie, show her where she can find some new ones, will you?"

"Alright." Jamie said obligingly and followed Victoria as she started down the hallway. Jamie came back a moment later.

"Try to give us a smooth take off Doctor. We don't want to frighten her." He gave the Doctor a pat on the back as the Doctor stared at the retreating Scot. I tried to smother my laugh.

"A smooth takeoff? A smooth takeoff?! What a nerve!" The Doctor called back to Jamie. I just shook my head at their antics. Two and Jamie McCrimmon were, in my opinion, the best Doctor/companion combination in the show. Jamie was the Doctor's best friend and adoptive son at the same time and as much as he loved to tease him he cared about him very deeply. "And just what are you smiling at you lovesick puppy?" He asked a bit testily. My eyes widened. "That's right, I saw the way you were staring at Jamie. You weren't doing a very good job of hiding it, even less than you usually do." I folded my arms and gave him a glare. Suddenly Ten's comment made a lot of sense, even though I had had a suspicion.

"No need to get testy Doctor." I snapped back. He frowned at me.

"I'm sorry. You normally don't react this way to my teasing." He said. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"It's been a rough two days Doctor." I responded.

"Two days?! You've only been here two days?! My word! I had no idea…" He trailed off and really took a good look at me. "You do seem to have a rather shell shocked aura about you." His frown deepened. "Did something happen, are you alright?" I started to nod but as he gave me a look that said he wouldn't buy it I shook my head.

"Physically, yes. Emotionally, not so much. Brushing up with death and insanity tends to leave you bushed." I said and thought back to the day I had had with running around and trying to hide from the Master. "It wasn't a very pleasant experience."

"I can see that. You look positively exhausted. Your room in right where it usually is, down the hall to the right. Go get changed and get some rest. The TARDIS can keep herself occupied for an hour or two until you've had a chance to rest. Which one of me were you just with?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Spoilers." The Doctor sighed but acknowledged that even he couldn't be privy to everything.

"Well tell him next time to take proper care of his companions. You look like you've been chewed on by an Androgum and spit out only to be chased by Sontarans and run into the Daleks when escaping from them." I was trying hard not to imagine all those things happening to my person.

"Thank you, Doctor, for all those fantastic mental images." I sighed and started down the hallway leaving him to sputter as he tried to come up with another remark to rebut my chastising. I went down the hallway and found conveniently that there was only one door. I smiled and pat the wall affectionately, glad the Old Girl was here to look after me. "Thank you." I whispered.

I opened the door to the room and gasped. It was gorgeous. There were patterns of purple and pink in a sunset mix on the walls and a carpet of stars for the floor. The bedding was a soft and silky lilac. I grinned and the TARDIS hummed her approval of my reaction. The bathroom was connected to it and I went and showered a nice hot shower for the first time in a few days. It was glorious. Then I went to the closet and pulled out a simple ensemble of cargo pants and a TARDIS blue shirt, wrapping my hair in a bun that was lower on my head. I kept my key, watch, ring, and pin on. Then I turned out the lights with the sound of the TARDIS humming in the background. It seemed she was singing me a melody.

I woke up later, unsure of how much, to a knocking on my door. I went to it and opened it and there stood Jamie McCrimmon, his hand raised to knock again. He jumped slightly.

"Hello." I started and he stood there for a second.

"Hullo." He responded after a moment of silence. It was slightly awkward.

"Is there- is there something you needed?" I asked Jamie, unsure of why he was at my door.

"Aye, I mean no, I mean it's the Doctor. He sent me to check up on ye." He stumbled through his words.

"Oh. Well I'm fine. I feel much better now via change of clothes and bath. I should try it more often." I said and stopped as I remembered where I'd heard that from. I needed to stop stealing other people's words.

"Well, I do nae think ye looked as bad as ye seem to believe." Jamie said, trying to make me feel better. I smiled at him.

"Thank you. So did the Doctor want me to come back to the Consul Room with you?" I asked, unsure as to why he seemed so uncomfortable. He nodded his ascent and we went on our way down the hall.

"Ye don't remember any o' the things we've done, do ye?" Jamie asked suddenly in the hallway.

"No, I'm sorry." I said and he nodded slowly.  
"The Doctor told me this might happen one o' these days. It was only a matter o' when it would." Jamie responded thoughtfully and a bit forlornly. Uncertain of how to take all this I was about to ask what was bothering him when we came to the Consul Room at last.

"Ah Jamie, Jessica. You are here just in time. We were about to go take a look at the planet outside. Either of you care to join us?" He indicated to the beckoning adventure outside of the TARDIS and I nodded. There was no way I was going to miss this. He opened the door and stepped out holding Victoria's hand and Jamie and I went to follow out onto the rocky plains only to soon be halted by some men holding pistols. I knew this was coming but was exasperated anyway. Nothing could ever be simple with the Doctor and I was just starting to learn that lesson over again.


	4. Not Alone In the Cyber Zone

"Hold it right there friend." A man said who sounded very American like me. He leveled a pistol at the Doctor who stopped and raised his arms all the way into the air.

"When you hold it like that I certainly will!" The Doctor responded a bit indignantly and Jamie inserted himself between Victoria and I and the line of fire from the men with the pistols.

"You hear that Professor?" One of the men asked.

"English." The Professor responded in confirmation to the query. "Alright." He called off his man. The Doctor lowered his hands and gave the man a smile of gratitude.

"Thank you."

"Who are you and where do you come from?" The Professor man interrogated.

"And you'd better have a good story." The gun happy American warned. I glared at the man.

"Maybe you won't get one if you're going to be so rude." I said before Jamie could respond. The man came over to us.

"Listen young lady, we're not playing games." The man tried intimidating. I rolled my eyes.

"You'd better listen to him. Now what's been happening over here?" The Doctor deterred the attention of the men with the guns from us. He noticed a dead man and started over towards him with me in tow and Jamie and Victoria following closely behind.

"He was killed the moment you made your appearance." A balding man said.

"How? We don't have any weapons. We had nothing to do with this man's death." I said defending us. "We just seem to have a knack for popping up when there's trouble."

"Aye. That's a specialty o' the Doctor's." Jamie agreed with me in amusement.

"That being said, I can assure you we truly did have nothing to do with this man's demise." The Doctor said after sending a small look of warning towards Jamie and I. "He appears to have been electrocuted. Trying to open this door perhaps?" The Doctor said after examining the dead man's hands and pointing to the building with an engraving of a Cyberman on it.

"He seems to know all the answers." One of members of the expedition said.

"A wise guy." The American grumbled.

"I think this fellow must be the member of a rival expedition." The same one who commented on the Doctor's knowledge said in suspicion.

"Expedition?" The Doctor questioned.

"We tried to keep it secret, unsuccessfully it now appears." The man who seemed to be the leader said, the Professor from before.

"Look at him. Archeologist written all over him." The one who said the Doctor was a rival said.

"Really, does it show?" The Doctor said bashfully and I smiled.

"I thought he pointed and laughed at archeologists." I whispered to Jamie and Victoria who both grinned in response. "After all, he is a time traveler."

"There you see? It is impossible to keep a secret in the scientific world." The Doctor continued on the cover story they had given him.

"Doctor, what do you mean?" Victoria asked confused.

"Tell them Doctor. Go on, tell them." Jamie encouraged the Doctor to tell the truth.

"Not until they tell us why they're here." I answered for the Doctor who gave me an annoyed glance.  
"What have I told you about stealing my sentences?" He scolded me lightly. I shrugged.  
"Nothing so far."

The Professor gave us both a look. "This is an archeological expedition. We are searching the universe for the last remains of the Cybermen."

"Cybermen? Ye mean to say they came from here?" Jamie asked with a slight bit of nervousness in his tone. I couldn't blame him. His first encounter with the Cybermen was anything but pleasant.

"That is a_ really_ stupid idea." I muttered. Only the balding man heard me and the glare he gave me was one of pure venom. I gave him a challenging one right back. I wasn't going to let this pushy and annoying man intimidate me.

"But of course. This was their home. This is the entrance to their city." The Professor explained. A colleague of his jumped in.

"We know they died out many centuries ago. What we don't know is why they died out."

"I have an idea why." I said to Victoria who gave me a questioning glance and I smirked at the Doctor who ignored me.

"Collin, Rogers, back to the rocket. I'll be with you in a minute." The American ordered. "Well that's that. Are you coming back to the rocket with me Professor?" He asked.

"What for?" The man asked.

"You're not going on with this are you? Look, I don't know if these people had anything to do with it or not-"The American gestured to us.

"We didn't!" I said exasperated.

"But one of my men has just been killed." He finished after I received a look of annoyance. "And it isn't a joke either. He's a good man with a wife and family. You're not paying that kind of money." He told the Professor. I was outraged. How dare he think I thought a dead man was funny?!

"Yes I suppose that's quite true." The Professor responded.

"You think it over. C'mon let's go." He called upon his men. "We'll wait for you back at the ship." And the rocket crewmen left.

"Now the problem I take it is to open these doors, right?" The Doctor asked the expedition leader.

"Hah. Brilliant." The Bald Man snickered.

"That is the problem." The Doctor asserted.

"And we would prefer it if you went back to wherever you came from." Bald Man rudely stalked off.

"Not really friendly, are they Doctor?" Jamie asked, affronted.

"Oh let's do as he says." Victoria pleaded.

"We can't Victoria." I said tiredly. "It became the moment that name was mentioned."

"What name?" Victoria asked.

"Cybermen." The Doctor said determinedly. He'd made up his mind, we'd be staying.

The men on the other side were muttering.

"We must stay." The Doctor said and emphasized with a hand gesture. I tensed and so did Victoria. Jamie noticed our unease.

"Oh, Doctor!" He scolded.

"Must we? I don't like the look of this at all." Victoria added.

"We shall stay and help you with your search." The Doctor informed the party.

Jamie turned to me and Victoria. "There's no arguin' with him now. Once he's got his mind set ye cannae change it." He shook his head.

"Suppose we don't want your help." The man who had been nothing but hostile since we'd gotten here and demanded we leave stated.

"That's nonsense, it's obvious you do. Now we can all agree. I can open those doors for you." The Doctor pointed to the entrance.

"Our problem." The man rebutted, gesturing to the expedition. " And I suggest you take this ridiculous expedition of yours off this planet."

"It seems to me we have as much right here as you have!" Jamie pointed angrily to the men.

"Of course you have, Mr. Kleeg, must I remind you again that you will not speak for this expedition? I am its leader. You and Ms. Kaftan are only here on sufferance." The Professor responded. He was much more aimiable.

"Whose money was it that paid for that rocket?"

" Mine." A woman said.

"I was quite clear that your financial support did not entitle you to a say in the running of this expedition." The Professor said.

"Of course. It was quite clear. Was it not Eric?" Ms. Kaftan prodded Eric Kleeg.  
"Of course. No one questions your leadership Professor." Eric said.

"Ah, good." The Doctor said jovially. "That's all settled. And now we shall open these doors." The Doctor went up to the doors.

"Well careful man!"  
"Doctor!" Victoria called. The Doctor placed a small box on the door.

"Perfectly safe now." He announce after a moment.

"You'll be killed!" A man warned.  
"No, don't touch him!" Another man called.

The Doctor pulled on the doors. "I'm afraid it's beyond my strength." Jamie smiled at me and went up to the doors.  
"Let me Doctor." He said and tried to open them. He pulled on them and I giggled as they didn't give. He had seemed so cocky going up.

"Aye, well I've not had much exercise lately." He said.  
"Quite." The Doctor responded, ignoring his attempts to display his masculinity to me and Victoria. "I think here's a gentleman who could open these doors for us.

"He is _my_ servant. I will not have him risk his life!" Ms. Kaftan said.

"Jamie's fine. Do you honestly think the Doctor would carelessly allow him to risk his own life? Not to mention he tried it himself and there wasn't any danger." I said, gesturing to the still struggling Scottish man.

"Certainly it was for a contingency just as this that you insisted we bring him with us!" The Professor pointed out.

"There's no danger now, unless of course he's afraid." The Doctor said and the large man lumbered forward towards him. "No he's not afraid." The Doctor said, backing up. We all moved back to give the man some room to work with. He pulled open the massive doors and people started to go in.

"Now wait! Wait! I would be very careful in there if I were you." The Doctor blocked people's entrance.

"But why wasn't Toberman killed? Why weren't you killed?" Another man asked.

"Poor fellow who died drained all the energy into his body. Perfectly safe to go in there now."

"Come on, we're wasting time." Kleeg started in. He stopped. "Of course, after you, Professor." He said with a forced politeness.

"But I'd still- I'd still be very careful if I were you! Very careful indeed!" The Doctor called after the entering expedition. He wasn't paying attention.

"Come on let's go and join them." He said and grabbed Jamie's hand, holding it in a way that suggested he was escorting a young lady. He let go immediately as he realized it wasn't Victoria. I laughed and he scowled slightly. "Come on Victoria, Jessie." He called and beckoned us over. I blinked. Apparently I had a nickname. Jessie. I like that. I started forward but Victoria shook her head.

"You look very nice in that dress Victoria." The Doctor said as he walked over.

"Thank you." She said timidly, staring at the dark entrance to the tomb. "Don't you think it's a bit-"

"A bit short?" The Doctor finished her question. "Oh, I shouldn't worry about that. Look at Jamie's!" The Doctor indicated the kilt clad Scot.

"Ey, I'll have ye know-" I jabbed him with my elbow. "Oh, aye." He agreed to make Victoria feel better.

"Where I come from some people would say you were dressed in too long of a dress." I told her helpfully. "Let's go and see what the others are doing." I said and beckoned to the door. The Doctor linked arms with her and led her inside. Jamie and I went up to the entrance.

"Lassies first." He said, totally serious. I smiled at his chivalry.

"Thank you dear sir." I responded playfully and descended while he stared after me in bewilderment at my apparent 180 when it came to confidence.

We entered a room full of gadgets and tech. It was a bit overwhelming even for me. And I had an uncle who worked for NASA.

"Mercy. Look at this place." Victoria breathed.

"Do you think I should push the big red button?" I whispered to Jamie who shook his head.

"Tha' always goes wrong." He responded.

"These controls are early of the species." The Professor said while looking around.

"Not to very early by the look of it." The Doctor. The Professor tried to argue.

"Yes I am capable of making my own deductions, thank you."

"Alright." The Professor relented.

"Rude." I whispered to the Doctor.  
"What?"

"Rude and not ginger but mostly rude." I repeated. He looked at me.  
"What does red hair have to do with anything?" He asked disconcerted. I laughed.

"Sorry. Wrong regeneration." He rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

Ms. Kaftan and Mr. Kleeg were talking. From the looks of things they were too happy for the situation we were currently in. Ms. Kaftan had a smirk on her face and Toberman had just laughed evilly and smiled. If only I could remember what about. I had only seen this episode once. The details were hazy. All I knew was that we needed to be wary. There was something about them I didn't quite trust.

"Just like old times, eh?" Jamie asked as the Doctor scurried around the controls and Victoria and I watched him work.

"Well it certainly seems like it will become the only constant thing in my near future." I sighed. He looked at me.

"I'm sorry. I forget this is only the second time for ye." He said. I nodded.  
"It's fine."

"Ye seem to have somethin' on yer mind." He inquired. I shrugged. "What's wrong? The Jessie I know cannae keep this quiet."

"That's just it Jamie! I'm not the Jessie you, or any of the other Doctors know! I've just only got here and I don't understand why I'm here, what's going on, or if I'll ever be able to see my family again!" I said in despair.

He looked at me, shocked.  
"Ye told me the Doctor was yer family." He said. With that my heart broke and tears started to stream down my face.

"What's wrong?" Victoria asked alarmed.

"I never go home." I whispered. "I never get to see my little sister grow up, or my older sister marry her fiancé. I never get to watch my brother go on his first date, or be an aunt, or go to Sarah's graduation or or- "I started to hyperventilate. Unsure of what else to do, Jamie pulled me in for a hug.  
"It's alrigh'. I promise ye, it gets better." He told me soothingly.

"How do you know Jamie? How do you know that it'll turn out alright?" I asked, pushing away. He looked hurt.

"Because the first time I met ye, ye were a saucy lass, head strong and full of determination. Ye said ye were here to keep a promise made to an old friend and also to visit yer family. Ye were witty and lively and yer eyes sparkled with humor. Trust me when I tell ye, it gets better. Ye are able to move forward and if ye ever need help getting there, I'll help ye myself I promise. Yer a good friend to the Doctor and a good friend to me and we willnae let anything happen to ye." He told me. I nodded. If there was anything that I knew about Jamie McCrimmon it was that he always told the truth and that if he promised he would keep it. A Highlander's word is his bond and Jamie had just made me a promise. Even if I continued to jump in and out of the Doctor's timeline, here at least, with the Second Doctor I had a place where two friends were ready to accept me with open arms. I had two people that would be constant in my new and continuously ever changing life. And from the way Victoria was nodding, it seemed that I had a third. The Doctor called us over and together the three of us went to join him, the four of us ready to take on the next part of this as a team. I wasn't alone and something told me that as long as I was with the Doctor, I never would be even when I had lost everything I knew he would still be there.


End file.
